DENVER (KDVR) — Over 20 years ago, voters approved RTD’s expansion program, the largest in the nation. 113 miles of both commuter and light rail systems, 78 rail transit stations, and 18 miles of rapid bus transit were set to hit the metro.
“We have a lot of challenges in terms of completing the program in a shorter period of time. And I know everybody's anxious about it, but we really do need other sources of revenue in order for us to kind of be able to complete it in a reasonable amount of time,” senior manager for transit-oriented communities for RTD Bill Sirois said.
Major hits to the economy and a massive decline in ridership have made funding the project nearly impossible. RTD is now asking for $1.6 billion to get the project done by 2034, almost two decades past the original deadline.
“I think the legislature really wanted us to be quite creative in how we do this," Sirois said. "And I think we clearly came with the conclusion that under the current situation with funding, we don't have the ability to complete all four quarters”
Earlier this year, Colorado lawmakers passed the Transit Reform Law. A law aimed at holding RTD accountable and it requires RTD to report necessary funding increases.
Funding that the director of policy and research at the Common Sense Institute, DJ Summers, says would likely come out of the pockets of the taxpayers.
“Realistically, it would probably come from an increase in taxes in the RTD districts that they serve. That's probably where that would come from. There'd be a new retail sales tax or maybe new ridership tax,” Summers said.
The project was originally supposed to cost $4.7 billion, but has since snowballed into $5.5 billion. Add in the new funding RTD is asking the state for and that total comes up to over $7 billion.
FOX31 reached out to the governor’s office, which provided a statement.
“This is exactly why we are working with RTD on joint operating authority to substantially complete the promise of northwest rail 30 years earlier at a lower cost. We are working hard to find a mutually beneficial path forward, we hope that we make good on the commitment to voters when presented with that path.”
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